


...And the War Within

by angellwings



Series: ...And the Possibilities [3]
Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, F/M, Family, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothetical Season 02, Romance, Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2015-07-11
Packaged: 2018-04-03 10:33:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4097689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angellwings/pseuds/angellwings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Baird grows increasingly nervous as the Librarians seem to face more and more coincidences while strange cases of madness and insanity begin to pop up in a most inconvenient location for one of our Librarians. Third in my "...And the Possibilities" series. Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cold Open: Sam

**Author's Note:**

> I've been able to write this week! ISN'T THAT AMAZING? I finally have time in my schedule again to get back to my favorite group of misfits, liars, and geeks (by that I mean The Librarians.) So, here is the start of episode 3. Hope you guys like it! I've tried to use some feedback I got from a few amazing LITS while writing the last episode. Happy reading!

He was tired. It was an exhaustion that went bone deep. But he’d take tired over hungover any day. He threw his hard hat into the passenger seat of his truck and nodded to his men as they left the site. They’d all put in a hard days work. It felt good, working again. Having the presence of mind to actually get in there and get his hands dirty. His orange safety vest joined the hard hat in his passenger seat and the top few buttons of his coveralls were quickly undone. It had been nearly unbearable in the heat of the rig and it was still overwhelming while standing outside of his truck in the late afternoon.

He just had to make it a few more minutes. He needed to make sure all of his workers were safely on their way home before he hopped in his truck and headed on his way. He closed the driver’s side door and leaned against it with his arms crossed.

He really did like being back on the job. He supposed he had his son to thank for that. The kid had always liked to wander, though, he’d only taken a handful of opportunities to do so in his life time. There was that time he took that job flying back and forth to Alaska, those trips to that refinery in Texas, the temporary contract job in Arkansas…

But this time the kid had really done it. No one knew what he was actually up to. He’d given them all a line about where he would be if they needed him, but that had fallen through a few weeks back. Only, neither of his parents had the heart to tell him. So they let him think they believed it.

He had to admit at first he was furious. The kid left him short handed. He'd raised the boy to take over and run the place. It would take far too long to hire and train a replacement. So for the first time in years, he ventured out and returned to the work force. Picking up the slack his son left behind. But it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. Forced him to put the bottle down. You needed a clear head to work on a rig like theirs and it gave him room to really look at what he’d given up on and wasted. He wasn’t sure he liked what he saw.

If getting back to his roots over the last several months had taught him anything, it was that there was always a way back home. And, lord willing, he had found it. Now it was up to him to mend the bridges he’d burned during all those wasted years. Starting with the kid. He had a whole hoard of kids, but he seemed to have messed up with one more than the others. A lot more.

If he ever got up the nerve.

His phone rang and he quickly pulled it out of his back pocket and smiled at his wife’s number on his caller ID.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said with a smile.

“You’re late, you said you’d be home in time for supper.”

“I know, we ran a little late today. Just waiting on my guys to leave and then I’ll be there. Keep a plate warm for me, will ya?” He asked apologetically.

“Of course, the kids came by for dinner,” the voice said kindly.

“All of ‘em?” He asked hopefully.

“All but one, Sam,” his wife said in a knowing tone. “He’ll come ‘round when he’s ready. Really, you can’t really blame him for runnin’ off. He had the whole world on his shoulders. He needs a break.”

“I can’t fix, what I can’t see, Deb,” Sam told her with a huff.

“It’s not as if you’d be able to fix it overnight anyway, hon. You got a long road ahead of you with him,” she told him honestly. “He won’t be as forgivin’ as the younger ones.”

Finally, his last man waved to him as he got in his truck and drove out of the gate. Sam sighed and nodded in agreement with his wife, even if she couldn’t see him. “Okay, Tommy just left, he was my last guy. I’m gonna lock up here and then I’ll be home.”

“Alright, see you in a few. Drive safe. Love you.”

“Love you too,” Sam said as he hung up the phone and got in his truck. He drove out of the gate and then stopped to lock it up. Turning to look at his rig one last time. Pride. That’s what he felt. Pride.

How many years had it been since he’d felt that in himself? 

Too many to count, he thought as he locked the gate and put the keys in his pocket. He turned to get into his truck and heard a rustling sound several feet behind him.  It sounded like something rattling the fence.  He cursed and turned toward it.

“Damn, Coyotes,” he muttered under his breath. He couldn’t see anything but in the setting sunlight that wasn’t a surprise. He shrugged it off and headed for his truck again. He froze when he felt something brush against his leg. “What in the sam hill…” 

He turned again and still nothing was there. He rubbed a hand across his forehead and shook his head. “I picked a fine time to quit drinking. Snap out of it, Sam. It’s just your imagination.” 

He turned back toward his truck to leave but was suddenly knocked to the ground by a strong gust of wind.

And that’s when everything went black.

 


	2. Act 01: Owayne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake's clippings book brings the Librarians a new case that involves mysterious cases of sudden madness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoping to get back to posting once a week! So here's your update for this week! This one's got chapters that are a bit longer than the last one (or they feel that way to me.) Enjoy!  
> Happy reading!  
> angellwings

 

Helping Cassandra practice her magic had become a daily event now for Jake. Here lately, he’d been more of a bystander than a participant, really. She was able to do simple things on her own, with out an anchor, now. She could levitate a book, she could write with a pen without actually using her hands (a trick that still made Jake uneasy when he watched her working out her usual math problems), she could even stir her coffee with just a flick of her finger.

Big stuff was still a ways away though. For some reason, she was dead set on trying to figure out how to create fire. Why she had zoned in on that skill he wasn’t quite sure, but that was her current goal. Jones had tried to convince her to practice magically picking a lock. (“Or maybe more like a safe or vault door…” he’d added hopefully just before Cassandra shut him down.)

This morning, though, when he arrived at The Annex she wasn’t practicing. She had her hands in the air flipping through images he couldn’t see. Working out math he’d never understand.

“Cassie?”

“Shh, I’m doing math. Well, more accurately, seeing what happens when I do math and magic simultaneously,” she said as she continued to look at whatever her brilliant brain was imagining.

She held out her right hand with the with her palm facing away from her while her left continued to help her work out the problem. He watched as a pile of books at the other end of the table began to shake. At the bottom of which, was her notebook. He watched her carefully, afraid that this time she might be overdoing it. The stack of books fell, but the notebook began to slide across the table toward her. She winced and gritted her teeth but she didn’t waiver. It looked like she might actually manage multi tasking her abilities until it happened.

She wobbled.

He tried not to race to her side immediately. Last time he had done that she said he actually made it worse. Something about how it psyched her out and made her give up quicker than she ought to. He hadn’t really understood and tried to argue the issue but nothing he said had changed her mind. So, he was fighting his instincts and keeping his distance a bit longer than he liked. This time he managed to hold off until her knees actually buckled before he ran to her. He caught her by the waist and steadied her while he listened to her breathing. Only when her breathing evened out and she was standing on her own did his worry start to ease. He released her reluctantly and she turned to face him with a grin.

“Took you long enough,” she said as she tried to shake away the fog in her brain that always seemed to follow one of her spells.

He blinked at her and felt frustration bubble up in his chest. His arms flailed in what, he was sure, was probably the least graceful way possible as he tried not to yell. “Took me long—You said—no—yelled at me about how my rushing to your side every time you looked a bit weak made you worse! And now you’re complaining about—make up your mind, woman!”

Her eyebrows rose and she attempted to hide her smile by biting her lip, but it wasn’t long before she laughed loudly at him. “I was kidding, Stone.”

He dug the heels of his hands into his eyes as he often did when she or Jones drove him just a little crazy and he felt her smaller hands pull his away from his face slowly.

“I’m sorry,” she said with a small smile. “You’re just too much fun to tease sometimes. Thank you for keeping your distance earlier. I appreciated it.”

A grin pulled at the edge of his mouth and he nodded. “That wasn’t exactly easy for me, you know.”

She nodded and squeezed his hands. “I know. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he answered as his blue eyes met hers. They stayed that way for a long moment. Longer than strictly necessary, really, before she released his hands and started cleaning up the mess she’d made with the books. He watched her silently as she gathered them in a stack and then looked at him with a mischievous smirk.

“Besides, Jacob,” she said as she headed to the stairs. She climbed a few before she turned to him to finish her sentence. “You’re awfully cute when you’re flustered.”

She didn’t wait for his reaction before she turned and went up the stairs to disappear into the stacks. He blushed a little and grinned to himself as he watched her walk away. Okay, that was definitely flirting. That was new. Well, for her at least. Just when he thought he might have that girl figured out, she always found a way to surprise him.

“Good God, just get a room already, will you?” a voice asked from the door. “You two are moving at a snails pace. Let’s speed this up a bit.”

Jake rolled his eyes and turned to face a smug looking Ezekiel Jones. “Why don’t you mind your own business for once, huh?”

“Is that even possible around here?” Ezekiel asked with a smirk. “At this point, we are all in each other’s business all the time, and I think I speak for Baird, Flynn, and Jenkins when I say: get a move on, cowboy. This was fun at first but now it’s just getting tired.”

“Good morning, Librarians,” Eve said as she practically floated through the door.

“Someone’s in a good mood,” Cassandra said with a smile as she appeared at the top of the stairs.

“I’ve had a good morning—no, scratch that—great morning,” Eve said with a contented sigh. “Don’t you dare mess this up for me, Jones. Clear?”

“As crystal,” he answered with a nod and a smirk.

“Where’s Flynn?” Jake asked. Lately, the two of them had been coming into the Annex together.

“He went to New York this morning,” Eve answered. “To move out of his apartment.”

“He’s moving to Portland?” Cassie asked excitedly as she practically ran down the stairs.

Eve nodded. “The Library is anchored here now. There’s no need for him to keep his place in the city.”

Eve sat down at her desk and said nothing further on the subject, which effectively meant they should drop it. She was trying too hard not to appear to be excited about Flynn moving to Portland full time. And the three of them got the distinct impression she wasn’t telling them everything.

Jake sat down at the main table and placed his mini clippings book and his coffee down in front of him. Whatever it was, he trusted Eve to tell them when the time was right. He wasn’t really worried about it. Suddenly his clippings book began to glow and he clumsily fumbled to open it.

At the same time the Back Door rattled and then burst open before Flynn and a handtruck filled with boxes came into the room.

“Oh good!” Flynn announced. “You’re all here! You can help me move!”

“You gonna pay us?” Ezekiel asked.

“Yes, with pizza,” Flynn told him with a smirk.

“Extra cheese double pep?” He asked hopefully.

“Sure,” Flynn said with a shrug.

“Then I’m in!” Ezekiel exclaimed.

“I’d love to,” Stone said as he opened his book. “But I think I’ve got a case. Anything in either of your books?” He asked Cassandra and Ezekiel.

Ezekiel pulled his out his jacket pocket and shook his head as he skimmed through it. Cassie picked hers up off the table and flipped through it quickly before she too shook her head.

Eve stood up to join them at the table. “You know, maybe we should all work on it. Together.” She gave Flynn a meaningful look and he nodded.

“Yes, you should. I can handle this.,” He said as he motioned to the boxes.

“What if something happens in the big book?” Cassandra asked. “Who will be here to handle that?”

“I’ll handle it. After all, I am the Librarian,” Flynn offered with a smile. “Well, Senior Librarian,” he said with a slight frown.

Jake’s brow furrowed at the pair. “Okay, what’s going on? Since you ‘graduated’ us, you and Baird have been working every case together.”

“And we’re fine with that,” Ezekiel said with a smirk. “We’re great with that. So keep doing it, yeah?”

“No, no,” Eve said with a forced smile. “I think I should work with the three of you this time. Just in case.”

“In case of what?” Cassandra asked in concern.

“We have a new threat to worry about now,” Baird said with a sigh. “Flynn and I think it’s best if I stick with you three for a while. Le Fay could show up at any time and we want to make sure we’re prepared for—“

“So, this is because of me?” Cassie asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“No,” Flynn answered. “This is because of Morgan le—“

“Right, who’s after _me_ ,” Cassandra said as she interrupted The Librarian. Cassandra didn’t look scared. She looked angry. “She’s not after all of you. I’m the one with the magic. You’re babysitting us again because of me, aren’t you?”

“It’s not babysitting, per say—“

“If Morgan’s such a threat then maybe I should be on my own,” Cassandra offered as she once again interrupted Flynn.

Jake immediately stood up to put himself between Eve, Flynn, and Cassie. “Whoa. Hold on.” He turned to Cassandra with a pleading expression. “Just take a breath, Cass.” She bit her bottom lip but nodded and willed herself to calm down. “Now, no one is going anywhere alone. Especially not you,” he said as he gave Cassandra a knowing look. “You know what le Fay would do to you if she got her hands on you and we’re not letting that happen.”

“But if she’s such a danger to us it would only make sense if I—“

“If you go then we’re just gonna follow after you,” Ezekiel said as he interrupted the red head with a smirk. “And I can’t speak for the other three but I’m stealthy, you’ll never know I’m there so you won’t be able to stop me.”

“It’s not logical for all of us to be in danger because a sorceress wants _my_ head. If my leaving would protect all of you then I’m fine with it. I’ve been alone before, I can do it again,” Cassandra told them with a determined glare.

“No,” Flynn said sternly. “None of us are going to be alone. Not anymore. Before all of this we were all, to some extent, solitary creatures. Yes, we’re all probably stronger for it but you can’t deny it didn’t cause quite a bit of unnecessary scarring. We have each other now and we’re sticking with it. Now, in the interest of preserving this little…family, Eve or myself will be accompanying the three of you on missions until such time as the Library brings us another guardian. Are we clear?”

Stone and Ezekiel nodded wordlessly and Flynn turned a pointed, almost parental, look on the last member of the trio. “Cassandra?”

She took a deep breath and then sighed in resignation. “Clear.”

“And no attempting to run off with out us in the middle of the night,” came a voice from the other corner of the room. They all turned to find Jenkins watching Cassandra expectantly. “You’re just the type to attempt something so foolhardy, Ms. Cillian.”

Cassandra blushed and looked to the floor in embarrassment proving to everyone that she had, in fact, been plotting just that.

“You must swear to us, Ms. Cillian, that you will not make some idiotic self sacrificing gesture on our behalf. Right now,” Jenkins told her.

There was a prolonged silence in the room as all eyes turned to Cassandra who was focusing her gaze on her shoes.

“We’re waiting,” Eve said as she tapped her foot impatiently.

“Fine,” Cassandra said with a huff. “I promise I won’t run off on my own in an attempt to save all of you from Morgan le Fay.”

“You weren’t crossing any fingers or toes were you?” Ezekiel asked warily as he circled her.

“No, I’m not a child,” Cassandra told him stiffly. All she had done was bring up a possibility—an idea—and now she felt like she was being chided like a naughty toddler.

“Good, now that we’re clear on that,” Baird said brightly as she turned to Stone. “What’s the case?”

Jake watched as Cassandra retreated to the far corner of the room and waited for her to turn her gaze back on the group before he answered Eve. “I, um--it’s just a bunch of clippings from small town newspapers.” He skimmed the articles and the dates. “People having nervous breakdowns, seemingly going mad, for no reason. Usually doing something embarrassing in public or—now that’s interesting.”

“What?” Cassandra asked from her spot across the room.

“This woman suddenly ran out into the street shouting frantically in Greek.”

“What’s interesting about that?” Ezekiel asked.

“She didn’t know how to speak Greek. Didn’t know any languages at all, in fact. She just went insane and starting shouting it at people on the street,” Stone elaborated.

“That’s new,” Flynn said with a smirk. “And yes, Stone, very interesting. Where was this?”

“It was—“ He cut off his sentence and shook his head. “You gotta be kidding me?” He looked up at the ceiling of the room before he spoke loudly. “You just had to give this to me, didn’t you? You couldn’t resist.”

“Where is it?” Ezekiel asked with a furrowed brow.

“Oklahoma,” Jake answered with a sigh.

“Where in Oklahoma?” Cassandra asked curiously as she took a step toward the group.

“I’ll give you one guess,” Jake said as he dropped his clippings book onto the table.

Flynn gave Eve a sidelong glance before he spoke next. “How…coincidental.”

“We are not using that word ever again,” Eve said with a glare. “We use it far too much.”

“Shall I set the Back Door?” Jenkins asked with a grin.

Of course Jenkins would be enjoying this. Jacob groaned miserably and ground the heels of his hands into his eyes for the second time that day. “Sure, why not,” he said sarcastically. “This is gonna be great.”

* * *

 

“Owayne, really?” Flynn asked as they took that first rocky step through the Back Door. “Your hometown is named Owayne?”

“Is there something wrong with that?” Jake asked Flynn with a quirked brow.

“No, no, nothings wrong really. It’s just quite a coinc—“ Flynn stopped himself and gave Eve a fearful look.  “It’s just what are the chances of your town having a name so similar to one of Morgan le Fay’s sons?”

The other four people traveling with Flynn froze on the other side of the door.

“What?” Jake asked.

“Yvain or Owain, he was one of Morgan le Fay’s sons and a Knight of the Round Table. Or possibly adopted son, that’s debatable,” Flynn clarified. “I’m sure we could ask Jenkins. He’d probably know which it was.”

“Next time you realize something like that, Librarian, don’t tell me,” Eve said with a tired sigh. Now she was even more worried than before. A part of her feared they were walking into some sort of trap.

“At least he didn’t say coincidence,” Ezekiel said with a smirk.

“Yes. A little sloppy on the execution but he does get an A for effort on that one,” Baird said as she tossed a grin at Flynn. He smiled and winked at her in return.

The door had opened into the kitchen of a local diner and everyone turned to glare at the inturders. A large man in a greasy apron waved a spatula at them.

“The back door’s for employees only! Go on now, git!” He said as he ushered them out of the kitchen and into the dining area.

“Well, that’s not exactly a convenient location for the door,” Cassandra said with a huff as they reached the dining room.

“The Medical Center is just down the road,” Jake said as they headed for the door. “The woman who had the breakdown will still be there. The date on the article was yesterday. That’s where we should start.”

“Do we have a name?” Eve asked.

“Katie Ford,” Jake answered. “She must be new in town because I don’t know her. And I know everyone.”

“This place is a lot smaller than I imagined,” Ezekiel said. They had stepped outside onto the sidewalk and he was looking around curiously. “I mean you said it was a small town, but this is worse than small. This is _miniature_.”

Cassandra smacked Ezekiel’s arm and shot him a silencing glare to shut him up. “I think it’s cute,” she said as she gave Jake a genuine smile.

“No,” Jake said with a dry smirk. “He’s right. It’s miniature. The Medical Center is at the end of the street. They’d keep her there instead of the drunk tank.”

“Drunk tank?” Flynn asked. “Meaning the local jail?”

Jake nodded.

“Well, isn’t that… _colorful_ ,” Flynn said with a smirk.

They walked inside the Medical Center and Jake made a beeline for the desk in the main lobby.

“Christy,” he said as he leaned against the desk.

The brunette turned and smiled brightly at him. “Jacob! When did you get back in town?”

“About ten minutes ago,” he said with his most charming smile. “Listen, my friends, here, are needing to talk to Katie Ford. She was probably brought in yesterday.”

Christy immediately looked at him sadly and winced. “I’m sorry, Ms. Ford died last night.”

“Really?” Jake asked as he exchanged a worried look with the others. “What happened?”

“No one knows,” Christy whispered. “The nurse went to check on her last night and she was just…gone. She’d been acting very strangely yesterday but she was perfectly healthy. Everyone was mystified.”

“Does she have any family in town?” Eve asked from behind Jake.

“Um, no, no family. There was a man that came into town with her though. He’s staying at the bed and breakfast. I think he was her research partner or something,” Christy said as she gave Eve a wary look. Clearly, Jake’s mistrust of new people came naturally.

Jake nodded and smiled at her. “Thanks, Christy. I’ll see you around.”

“Of course you will. The weekly town barbecue is tonight.”

Jake bit back a groan and forced an excited smile. “Oh, right, it’s Friday.”

“Don’t tell me you’re not coming,” Christy said as she put on a pout and fluttered her eyelashes at him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Cassandra lean her weight to one side and cross her arms over her chest.

“Yeah, Jake,” Ezekiel said with a cheeky grin. “Don’t disappoint the nice medical professional.”

“That’s fine,” Cassandra said as she rolled her eyes. “You guys stay here and flirt, Eve and Flynn and I will go work on the case. You know, like we’re supposed to do. So, _Christy_ , where’s this bed and breakfast?”

Christy blinked at Cassandra in surprise. “Take a right out of the building and then take a left onto the second street you come to. It’s the Sunshine Bed and Breakfast.”

Cassandra turned on her heel and left, Flynn and Eve hesitantly followed her. Eve gave Jake and Ezekiel parental glances as if to say, stay out of trouble. Jake gave the group that was leaving a confused look. What just happened?

“Are you back in town to check on your dad?” Christy asked.

Jake’s head quickly turned back to her. “What?”

“I just heard from Jimmy that they found your dad unconscious at the rig site this morning,” Christy told him.

“Probably just got a little carried away at Duke’s last night. He’ll be fine,” Jake said as he waved dismissively.

“I don’t know,” she said worriedly. “Jimmy said when he came to he was muttering gibberish. Sounded like he was pretty out of it. And your mother said she hadn’t heard from him since he called her just before he closed up the rig site.”

Jake glanced back at Ezekiel and huffed. He really didn’t want to discuss this in front of the thief. Suddenly, Christy’s last sentence clicked. “Wait. He closed up the rig? _My dad_ showed up to work?”

“Yeah, he’s been going every day since you left,” She told him with a nod. “Jimmy said he almost seemed like his old self again. Have you not talked to them since you ran off to that oil refinery in Texas?”

“I, um, I’ve been a little busy lately,” he said honestly. “Thanks, Chris. Really, I appreciate the help.”

Jake said his goodbyes and finally he and Ezekiel headed to the bed and breakfast to catch up with the others.

“So,” Ezekiel asked. “You and Christy, any history there?”

“In a town this size, everybody has history,” Jake answered vaguely. “You didn’t have to stay behind, you know.”

“Eh, watching you flirt with Christy was more entertaining then talking to some egghead researching fairytales,” Ezekiel said with a smirk.

“I wasn’t flirting,” Jake protested. “I was being polite. There’s a difference.”

“Sure there is,” Ezekiel said with a chuckle as they exited the Medical Center and made a right toward the bed and breakfast. “You may want to explain that difference to Cassandra because I’m fairly certain she couldn’t see it.”

“What?” Jake asked with a furrowed brow.

“Snippy Cassandra is Jealous Cassandra. How do you not know this? Aren’t you the world’s leading expert on Cassandra or something?” Ezekiel asked as they walked.

“I can’t say I’ve ever seen her jealous before—“

Ezekiel scoffed in disbelief but said nothing so Jake continued.

“—And she has nothing to be jealous of. I wasn’t flirting.”

Ezekiel gave his coworker an intrigued look. “Wait, but if you had been flirting you think her jealousy would have been justified?”

“I didn’t say—“

“You didn’t have to. Does that mean you don’t plan on flirting with anyone but Cassandra from here on out? Because, mate, you flirted with a lot of birds last year while we were on cases, including one that regularly tried to kill us, so if that’s the case you’d better be preparing to make a move sometime soon. If it’s serious enough for you to give up flirting then it’s serious enough for a date,” Ezekiel told him with a smirk.

Jake ignored him and muttered violently under his breath as they finally reached the bed and breakfast. Cassandra, Flynn, and Eve were chatting with a man in his mid-thirties who was leaning against a large white van.

“Look,” the man said with a sigh. “I really just want to get out of this town.”

“And we’re going to let you,” they heard Cassandra say soothingly. “But we were hoping you could answer some questions for us first. We’re trying to find out what happened to Katie.”

He sighed and nodded reluctantly. “If it helps figure this out then fine. What question is first?”

“What were you here researching?” Cassandra asked.

“Katie was working on a book about Japanese folklore. A follower on Twitter sent some information on this town and she wanted to see if it was true,” the man answered with a sigh. “I should have fought her on it. Following a hunch from a Twitter follower? That was never going to end well.”

“Why would you come here to research Japanese Folklore?” Flynn asked him with a furrowed brow.

“We found an article, well, an obituary, really, from a couple of towns over about an old man who died. Only it was as if his heart just randomly stopped because he was perfectly healthy for his age and didn’t have a history of any major health problems or conditions. When his wife found his body she found his hand wrapped around a pen at their desk. He’d been writing a letter, only she couldn’t read it. It was in Japanese,” the researcher told them. “The weird thing about it though? This man didn’t know Japanese. He didn’t know any other languages at all in fact.”

“If it was a couple of towns over,” Jake asked as he announced his presence. “Why come to Owayne at all?”

“The old man’s daughter lives here. She’s a waitress at the diner on Main Street. The wife said he’d written her several letters before he died. Katie wanted to see if those letters were in Japanese too. We only got to talk to the daughter for a brief moment before she suddenly took off for the street rattling off in Greek for the whole town to hear and then she collapsed. We never found out about the other letters,” he admitted.

“Thank you, Evan,” Cassie said as she reached out and squeezed the man’s arm comfortingly. “We appreciate your help with this.”

Ezekiel gave Jake a sidelong glance and smirked before he leaned toward him and whispered, “Jealous yet, Stone?”

“Shut up, Jones,” Stone said through gritted teeth.

The worst part was, the kid was right. He _was_ kind of jealous.

He hated it when Jones was right.


	3. Act 02: Gossip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake and Ezekiel are sent off to learn about the latest town gossip and if anything strange has happened to anyone else in Owayne.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this story kept getting longer and longer. And typically with this series I try to use the more traditional three act structure that a lot of shows use, though The Librarians actually uses a 6 act structure. My three act structure (cold open, act 1, act 2, act 3, tag) generally goes like this: introduce problem/remind audience of previous episode, heroes discover there is a problem, heroes figure out what the problem is, heroes resolve problem, heroes react to resolution/tease future episode. However, this one decided it wanted to be hella long. So for this episode you get a six act structure! That's 3 more chapters than I planned! Yay! 
> 
> Because of this, I'm posting another one right now.  
> Happy reading!  
> angellwings

 

Eve and Flynn left Cassie to finish up with Evan and then turned to Stone and Jones.

“Eve and I will go talk to the daughter about the letters,” Flynn said with a nod.

“Stone, this is your town,” Eve told him. “See what you can find out from the locals about any similar occurrences or other strange happenings and take Ezekiel with you.”

Jake shot a glance at Cassie as she chatted with Evan. “What about her?”

“She’s fine. Evan’s going to show her the research he and Katie had completed so far. She’ll go over it with him and catch up with us,” Eve told him.

“So, you’re just gonna leave her alone with him?” Jake asked worriedly.

Ezekiel smirked at him. “That a problem, Stone?”

He cleared his throat and shook his head. “No,” he grumbled. “No problem. Come on, we’re going to Duke’s.”

“Duke’s?” Ezekiel asked. 

Jake reluctantly turned and led Jones away from Cassie and Evan. “It’s the local bar. Ashby, the bartender, knows all the gossip in town. He’ll know if something’s up.”

* * *

 

Christy checked her watch and then quietly stood up from her desk as the nurse for the next shift came to relieve her at the reception desk. She smiled gracious and then made her way to the employee locker rooms to change out of her work clothes. As she rounded the island of lockers in the middle of the dressing room she found raven-haired woman waiting on her. She jumped and pressed a hand to her chest in shock.

“Jesus, Sakura, you have got to stop that.”

“So, did you talk to him?”

“He had others with him and the flirting didn’t work,” Christy said with a shrug. “There was some red head he was in to.”

“Yes, I’ve seen her. But I wasn’t quite sure if he was attached to her or not.”

“Looked like he was to me. This is ridiculous,” Christy said with a huff as she motioned down the length of her body. “We’ve got this poor girl locked up and we didn’t even get to speak to him. With that red head around he won’t look at us twice,” Christy told her as she pulled off her scrubs and began to change clothes.

Sakura stood and lifted a piece of Christy’s brown hair between her fingers. “No, he won’t. Not if we look like what he expects to find here, that is.”

“All we know about him, other than his occupation, is what people in this god forsaken ghost town say, and that’s clearly not accurate. Those people with him did not seem like his kind of people,” Christy said with a huff as she swatted away Sakura’s hand.

“Maybe the people in this town don’t know Jacob Stone like they think they do,” Sakura said with a grin. “Watching you fail to flirt with him was actually enlightening.”

“Gee, thanks,” Christy said with a roll of her eyes. “How so?”

“I think we need to change our approach, imouto,” Sakura told her with an affectionate smile. “Best to let me handle this.” Sakura waved a hand over her appearance and slowly her striking Asian features and long silky hair transformed into shoulder length copper hair, fair freckled skin, and pale blue eyes. She glanced down at her out fit and then pulled a compact mirror out of her pocket. She glanced at her reflection for a moment and then the mirror changed into an image of Jacob Stone and his friends. Her black jeans and black button up would not do. She snapped her fingers and her clothes dissolved into a flowery dress, brightly colored leggings, and flat lace up ankle boots with frilly socks peeking out over the tops. She nodded and gave her reflection a satisfied smile. “Much better.”

“What makes you think he’ll respond to that?” Christy asked. “You didn’t mimic her completely. You look close, but you’re not _her_.”

“I don’t need to be,” Sakura said as she continued to admire her new face. “I just need to be close enough. He’ll do the rest.”

Christy sighed and bowed respectfully. “Ganbatte.”

The recent red head bowed in return. “Un, ganabaru. Now, go home and change. When we deal with what to do with the girl we don’t need you resembling her. Your part in this is done for now.”

Chirsty called after her to stop her before she left the room. “I promise I did my best.”

Sakura came back to face her, nodded, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I know, Natsuki. You did well. He’s just more difficult to reach than we thought. Don’t worry.”

“It’s just we don’t have much time left to—“

“I said don’t worry, and I meant it. We’ll be fine. We are always are,” Sakura said dismissively. She continued on her way and as she left she overheard her companion talking to herself.

“It’s not _us_ I’m concerned about.”

They hadn’t come this far and survived this long to be taken out in a backwater hell hole in Oklahoma. Sakura was certain of that.

 

* * *

 

It never ceased to amaze Jake how this town never ever changed. It was always the same and Duke’s was no exception.

“Whoa!” A familiar voice exclaimed from behind the bar. “The prodigal son has returned! How the hell are you, Jake?”

Jake smiled easily at him and reached across the bar to shake Ashby’s hand. “Oh, fair to midland, I’d say.”

Both men paused and Jake groaned miserably while Ashby laughed hard and loud.

“What?” Ezekiel asked. “I don’t get it. What’s the joke?”

“Hoss, here, just channeled his daddy in a major way,” Ashby said with a final chuckle. “You ask his dad how he’s doing and he always says that exact same thing.”

“It just slipped out, I swear. It’s this bar and this town. It brings it out in me,” Jake said ruefully.

“Speakin’ of your daddy,” Ashby said with a somber expression. “How’s he doin’? I heard he as looking pretty rough this morning.”

“I haven’t seen him yet. Christy said they found him passed out at the rig?” Jake asked as he once again wished Jones wasn't around to overhear anything.

“Nah man, they didn’t find him at the rig. They found his _truck_ at the rig. They found him about 2 or 3 miles away with barely a scrap of clothing on. Out cold and according to the sheriff, who stopped by this morning, not a trace of alcohol in his system, for once,” Ashby said with a furrowed brow. “You really hadn’t been by to see your folks yet?”

Jake rubbed the back of his neck with a guilty expression. “Just got back into town, man. You know how it is. The whole town wants to catch up. It’s been a little crazy.”

“If you say so,” Ashby said with a disbelieving look as he dried a glass. “Who’s your buddy?” He set the glass aside and motioned to Ezekiel.

“Ah, this is Ezekiel Jones. He’s a, uh, colleague from Texas,” Jake said as he cleared his throat nervously.

“You’re telling me this _kid_ works at an oil refinery in Texas?” Ashby asked as he shook Ezekiel’s hand. “This guy with the soft and light hands of a city slicker?”

Ezekiel snatched his hand away from Ashby with a glare. “Hey! My hands are not soft and I don’t appreciate making ‘light’ sound like a bad thing. I’ve worked my whole life for ‘light’ hands. If I didn’t have light hands how could I do this?” Ezekiel asked as he smirked and held Ashby’s watch up in front of his face. “A _fake_ Rolex? I think we all know you’re better than that, mate.”

Ashby quickly took the watch back from Ezekiel and glared at him. “Kid, you do that again and you might get punched.”

Ezekiel chuckled. “I’m not worried. You’d have to catch me first.”

“Would you stop?” Jake asked Ezekiel with a huff. “Go…stand in the corner or something. Stop agitatin’ people.” He shoved Ezekiel toward the corner of the bar and then turned to add one last thought. “And don’t touch anything!”

“What? Like there’s anything here worth stealing?” Ezekiel asked with a scoff.

“Go back to what you said before,” Jake said with a furrowed brow. “He wasn’t drunk?” He asked as he brought the subject back to his father.

“Hadn’t had a drop and as far as I knew he’d been clean for _months_. Probably since about the time you left town. He started working on the rig and stopped coming in here. Like something suddenly clicked in that thick skull of his after all these years,” Ashby said with a nod. “That’s why it’s so odd to find him passed out like that. Besides, even when he was knock out drag out drunk he never _stripped_. Thank God. Angry drunks I can handle. Naked drunks, I cannot.”

Jake looked thoughtful for a long moment and then concerned and then truly worried. “Thanks, Ashby. I’ll see you later. I gotta go.”

“Yeah, no problem. Next time to you come visit, though, leave the kid behind,” Ashby said as he gave Ezekiel a wary glance.

Ezekiel quickly followed behind Stone as they left the bar. “What’s up?” he asked.

“Go find Eve and Flynn at the diner. See if they’ve got those letters yet. I need to take care of something…personal,” he said as he gave Ezekiel a hesitant look. “Call me if something life threatening happens. Otherwise, I’ll call one of you when I’m ready to catch up.”

And with that Stone was gone. Ezekiel furrowed his brow and shouted after him. “You know, aren’t Americans from the South supposed to be known for their hospitality? I don’t feel like you’re being very hospitable right now!”

“That’s the South East!” Stone yelled over his shoulder. “Welcome to the South West.”

“Perfect,” Jones muttered as he dialed Eve’s number to find out how to get back to the diner.  Eve answered on the third ring.

“What is it, Jones?”

“Colonel Baird, Grumpy the Art Historian has deserted me at a bar. Hope your having a better time of it than me,” Ezekiel told her.

“Stone left you alone?” Eve asked in surprise. “He doesn’t trust you as far as he can throw you.”

“Tell me about it.”

“We’ve got the letters and Cassandra set up shop at some Japanese Restaurant on Main Street. Can you make it back there on your own?” Eve asked.

Ezekiel could see the sign for Main Street from his spot outside of Duke’s. “Not a problem. What do the letters say?”

“Don’t know, they’re in Japanese. Flynn’s translating them now. We’ll know by the time we reach the restaurant. See you then, Jones. Stay out of trouble,” Baird said as she disconnected the call. Ezekiel sighed and began to walk toward Main Street but he stopped when he saw Christy from the Medical Center walking down the other side of the street. He’d seen a lot of stealthy people in his time. He could tell by a walk how handy someone would be in a heist. It was a gift. Christy had a swift and quiet walk. The walk of a thief or a troublemaker. Not unlike himself.  It hadn’t raised flags for him at the Medical Center. She’d been sitting down.

She stopped at vacant storefront and looked left and then right nervously before she unlocked the door. Definitely suspicious. Baird, Flynn, and Cassandra could wait for a little while. This was much more intriguing.

 

* * *

 

Stone marched purposefully down the street. He knew exactly where he was going and he didn’t plan to stop until he got there.

And then he saw a flash of copper hair and floral patterns. He turned sharply to see a red headed woman duck around the corner of a building. His brow furrowed, “Cassie?”

Wasn’t she supposed to be getting information from that Evan guy? He followed her around the corner and then down another side street. Where the hell was she going? Surely, she knew he was behind her by now. Why hadn’t she stopped? Was she mad at him about earlier? Finally, she stopped inside the general store. He ducked inside and tapped her shoulder. “Cassie?” She still didn’t turn around and he sighed. “Look, if this is about the Medical Center, I wasn’t flirting. I swear. I was just—“

The red head turned and Jake cut his sentence off immediately.

“You’re not Cassie,” Jake said with an embarrassed blush. “I’m sorry. I thought you were someone else.” The similarities were eerie though, he thought. This girl’s features were slightly different but the coloring was the same. Her eyes were further apart and her nose was longer and more slender. And, something he noticed straight away that he probably shouldn’t have, her lips were thinner. Specifically her bottom lip. The reasons he noticed that more than anything else didn’t escape him and only caused him to blush more furiously. “You, uh, you look a lot like her. I didn’t mean to bother you.”

“You’re no bother, Librarian. Oh, I’m sorry, you don’t go by that here. Do you?” Not-Cassie asked with a quirked brow. “Jacob Stone.”

He gave her a startled look and thought, _not again_. How did these people keep finding him _here_? His hometown wasn’t as well hidden as he thought.


	4. Act 03: Breakthrough

Baird and Flynn arrived at the Japanese restaurant to find Cassie looking over all of Katie's research materials that were spread all over the table.

"Find anything useful?" Baird asked Cassandra as she Flynn sat down at the table with her. Flynn was only half paying attention to the group. He was still reading over the letters.

"It's hard to make sense of her notes, honestly," Cassie answered. "And she has information on a ton of different topics. I'm not sure where to start. I'm starting to think I should have kept Evan around to help me. Anything helpful in the letters?"

Cassie and Eve turned expectantly to Flynn but he didn't seem to hear them.

"Apparently not yet," Baird said with a sigh as she craned her neck to look around the restaurant. "Has Jones gotten here? He was on his way over when we spoke a few minutes ago."

"No, I haven't seem him. Isn't he with Stone?" Cassie asked in concern.

"Stone ditched him. I was hoping to find out why once Ezekiel got here," Eve grumbled with a huff.

"These letters are useless," Flynn said with a shake of his head. "The only interesting thing about them is that they're in Japanese. He just keeps droning on about his chickens and the fox that keeps trying to eat them."

"I really should have asked Evan more questions about Katie," Cassandra said with a sigh. "These notes are about as helpful as those letters." Cassie flipped through a collection of illustrations that had been gathered in a portfolio. "While I'm wishing for things, I wish Stone were here. He'd probably know what these paintings are."

Flynn's hand flew out and stopped her from turning the page when she reached a certain illustration. He was trying to think above the noise and the phone ringing off the hook with to-go orders. Even one for a dish with extra tofu. He winced in disgust and then froze.

 _"Tofu!"_ Flynn yelled suddenly as he jumped up and ran to the counter. "Who just ordered that dish?"

The girl answering the phones jumped and stared at him with frightened eyes. "What?"

"The vegetarian dish with extra tofu. Who ordered it?" Flynn repeated eagerly.

"I'm sorry. I don't think I'm supposed to give out that information," she said as she blinked at him in confusion.

"Okay," Baird said as she cleared her throat and approached the counter slowly. "Let's not scare the normals, Librarian. What's going on?"

"Tofu! Foxes! People speaking new languages overnight! The clues are all there! We need to know who ordered that food. They could be in danger," Flynn told her in a slightly softer tone.

"Right, so we try the small town approach. Everybody knows everybody right?" Eve asked with a confident nod as she cleared her throat to get the girls attention. "Hi," she paused and glanced at the girl's name tag. "Amelia, listen, we're friends of Jake Stone—"

"Oh!" She said with a smile. "So you're here for pick up? That was fast! I thought Mrs. Stone would be coming to pick it up."

"Mrs. Stone?" Eve asked worriedly.

"Yeah, that was Jake's mom. She was ordering dinner for Mr. Stone. She said he had a craving," Amelia said with a chuckle.

"Jake's parents ordered that dish?" Flynn asked in disbelief. "That's a lot of coincidences even for us."

"You wouldn't happen to be able to give us directions to their house would you?" Eve asked. "Still trying to gain my footing in this town."

"Sure! I'll write it out for you. Just one moment, please," Amelia said as she disappeared into the back.

"Okay, Flynn, what are we up against here? You seem to know something we're all missing," Eve asked as she leaned toward him.

He sprinted back to the table and came back with the portfolio and the illustration that had distracted him earlier. "This," he said as he handed her the portfolio.

"This is a painting of Japanese women dancing in kimonos," Eve said with a furrowed brow. "I'm not getting it."

"That painting is called 'Fox women' by Bertha Lum," he informed her as if that would explain everything. Eve stared at him expectantly when he didn't continue.

"Okay, and that means what exactly?" Eve asked with an exasperated sigh.

"Hey!" Cassandra said suddenly as she joined them with one of Katie's notebooks resting open in her hand. "Listen to this: Possessed folk are also said to speak and write languages of which they were totally ignorant prior to possession. They eat only what foxes are believed to like — tofu, aburagé, azukimeshi, etc. — and they eat a great deal, alleging that not they, but the possessing foxes, are hungry. She quoted a folklorist named—"

"Lafcadio Hearn, yes I'm familiar," Flynn interrupted her. "This is bad. This is very bad."

"Foxes? That possess people? That's a _thing_?" Eve asked in shock. "Seriously?"

"Kitsune!" Cassandra exclaimed as she continued to read the entry she'd found. "She was researching kitsune!"

"And somehow she stumbled across a nogitsune. A ninko, to be exact," Flynn said with a sigh. "We are not prepared for this."

The door to the restaurant burst open and Ezekiel came sprinting into the restaurant and ran over to the group and yelled urgently, "Christy isn't Christy!"

At this point nearly everyone in the restaurant was staring at them.

"Alright," Baird said with a wary look around the dining room. "Maybe we should take this outside."

Amelia came back with the directions and Eve thankfully accepted the paper before they all gathered Katie's research and left the restaurant. Once they were on the sidewalk she turned on Jones. "What is this about Christy? And where the hell were you? You should have been here ages ago," Baird said with a glare.

"She's a fox thing! With like six tails! I saw her! She changed right in front of me!" Ezekiel said with a shudder. "It was _weird_. She looked like some sort of Pokémon or something. I followed her and she went into an old store front. So, I broke in and snuck around—"

"Of course you did," Cassandra said as she rolled her eyes at his casual tone.

"She had Christy locked in a closet! The real Christy! So I let her go and got her out of there and when I turned around there was fake-Christy, just standing there in the doorway staring at me and then she changed! Right in front of me!"

"You and I are going to have a long talk about you running off to do things on your own when this is over," Eve told him with a glare. "At least call me first, thief boy. And you," Eve said as she pointed at Flynn. "What's a nogitsune or ninko or whatever?"

"A demon fox spirit. When people are possessed by it they tend to speak languages they don't know and crave specific foods. Tofu is one of them. Occasionally they also foam at the mouth and act erratically. Traditionally it possesses women but I suppose that's not a _hard_ rule," Flynn said with a shrug. "If Katie is no longer with us then it could be it somehow ended up with Mr. and Mrs. Stone."

"So, that's what you think killed Katie?" Cassandra asked.

Flynn nodded gravely. "Most likely."

"And now you think Jake's parents are in trouble?" Cassandra asked with a furrowed brow.

Flynn nodded again.

"Because they ordered tofu?" Eve asked with a look of disbelief.

Flynn shrugged and nodded again. "Apparently, foxes like tofu."

"Jake ditched me after the bartender mentioned his parents," Ezekiel told them. "The bartender at Duke's told him they found his dad unconscious in a field or something this morning. That's when he started acting weird and left."

"So, if Katie was possessed by a demon fox spirit then why wasn't Christy possessed? Why kidnap her and plant a decoy at the Medical Center?" Cassandra asked in confusion. "Ezekiel said the fake Christy _changed into_ a fox. If it can possess people why not just do that?"

"Nogitsunes and _Kitsunes_ are very different. Our fake Christy sounds like a kitsune. There are similarities but they're known for causing very different kinds of trouble. A Kitsune can shape shift into human form. Again, traditionally a woman. Most likely, fake Christy is a Kitsune. Ninko are a type of Nogitsune who can only possess living things. They don't have a form of their own," Flynn informed them. "They're dangerous, and stubborn."

"So what do we do?" Ezekiel asked.

"Flynn's right. We're not prepared for this. So, we get Stone and we regroup at the Annex," Baird said as she held up the address to his parents' home. "We know where he should be. Let's ditch the research materials," Baird said as she motioned to Cassie's arms that were full of books and portfolios. "And go get him."

* * *

 

Jake stared at Not-Cassandra warily. He wasn't sure he was buying her story. He'd followed her out of the store and into an ally despite the warning voice in his head, but something about her (other than the fact she looked like Cassie) let him trust her just enough to be alone.

"You're telling me this nogitsune is looking for a Librarian host and the first thing it does is murder the most intelligent person in town—"

"Katie Ford was onto it. To leave her alive would leave a witness."

"Right, and then the second thing it does is snatch my dad?" He asked with a suspicious glance.

"How else would _you_ get a Librarians attention?"

He sighed and frowned at her thoughtfully. "And you. You're a kitsune? The Japanese fox spirit that's known for seducing men?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "That is not our purpose and an intelligent person like you who knows about cultures and history should already have an understanding of that. We're messengers and protectors of Inari, the fox spirit. Don't pretend to be so deft. It may work on the mortals in this town but give me the courtesy of believing _I'm_ beyond that, will you?"

"Says the kitsune who purposefully chose to resemble my—my friend to get my attention," he said with a quirked brow.

She chuckled. "Friend? Is that what you think she is? That's adorable."

He huffed. "Do you have a name?"

"Sakura," she answered plainly. Her phone suddenly let out a shrill ring and she answered it quickly. She listened for a moment and then her brow furrowed. "Natsuki, Natsuki, take a breath. It's fine. Where did he go?" She paused again and Jake anxiously glanced down at his watch. He'd been sidetracked for too long. He needed to make sure his father was alright. "No, no," Sakura said with a growl. "They can't go there! They'll be walking into a trap! Yes, go! I'm on my way." She squinted at him for a moment. "I don't know how much help he'll be. He doesn't seem to believe me. But I will bring him." She disconnected the call and then turned and ran away.

Jake blinked after her and then yelled. "Wait! Where are you going?"

"Your colleagues are headed toward your family home and are about to walk into a trap! I'm going to head them off. Feel free to join me. If you value their lives, that is," she called over her shoulder.

He sighed and set off to follow her again. Well, when she put it that way what other reaction could he have? Besides, he was headed to see his parents anyway, wasn't he?


	5. Act 4: Tail Tale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will Jake and Sakura get to the others before they walk into a trap?

 

Eve led the way as they reached the end of the gravel drive that led to the Stone family house. It was a large farm house with plenty of land and plenty of rooms but it could use a bit of upkeep. The paint had faded and the wrap around porch could use staining. The gardens around the house were perfectly maintained, however. Cassandra smiled at the flowers in bloom and at the house as a whole. It looked very much like Jake.

They all made their way up the front steps and just as Eve went to knock a fox ran up the steps and stopped in front of them. It was much larger than your average fox, though just as swift and quiet as you’d expect. What really made it stand apart from a regular fox was it’s numerous tails. Cassandra counted six just as Ezekiel had described.

“That’s her!” Ezekiel exclaimed. “That’s Fake Christy!”

Eve put a hand on her gun that was clipped to her belt and backed herself and the others away.

“Fascinating,” Flynn said as he attempted to step forward to look at the fox. Eve quickly grabbed the collar of his jacket to hold him still.

“Don’t you dare,” Eve told him. “Get out of our way,” she said as she glared at the fox.

The fox then began to grow and transform in front of them and a mere second later a beautiful ebony haired Japanese woman stood in front of them with an urgent expression on her face. “I can’t do that. You’re walking into a trap.”

“And we should believe you?” Ezekiel asked. “You kidnapped a girl and held her captive in a closet!”

“I needed a way to blend in and I needed someone your friend had a history with. We didn’t hurt her,” Natsuki said pleadingly. “Please, my name is Natsuki and my sister and I are here to _help you_.”

“So, it is a nogitsune, then?” Flynn asked worriedly.

She nodded. “A particularly nasty one. We’ve been hunting it for many months now. Each time it escapes us.”

“Why can’t we go inside?” Cassandra asked. “If Jake’s parents are in trouble then shouldn’t we help them?”

“The nogitsune doesn’t want his parents. It wants a Librarian. Any of you will do. Any being steeped in magic will allow it to grow stronger and maintain a vessel for more than a day or two,” Natsuki told them. She pointed to Flynn and then Cassandra. “Either of you would be prime targets. You’re _soaked_ in magic.”

Cassandra sighed in exasperation. “Is being magical _ever_ going to be an advantage? It’s been a bit of let down so far.”

“I’m still not sure why you expect us to believe you,” Eve said with a wary glare. “For all we know you could be working with this demon-fox and stalling for time.”

“If I were stalling for time why wouldn’t I just kill you? Why would I bother spinning a tale when it would take next to nothing for me to snap your neck?” Natsuki asked in irritation. “Mortals, you’re all so exhausting.”

The group exchanged horrified and awkward looks before Flynn cleared his throat and spoke.

“Logically, she does have a point.”

The crunching of gravel could be heard from behind them and they all turned to find Jake and another woman approaching them. As they got closer Cassandra’s mouth dropped open and her eyes narrowed.

“Guys! We got a problem!” Jake yelled as he ran to the porch and stopped at the steps.

“Who _the hell_ is that?” Cassandra asked as she pointed at her look-a-like.

Jake glanced at Sakura and then turned to face Cassie with a sheepish face. “Um, a kitsune?”

“Who looks like _me_?” Cassandra asked him.

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” Sakura said with a smirk.

“Actually, I think it says creepy stalker more than it says flattery,” Ezekiel said with an amused grin. “Any particular reason you chose to _flatter_ Cassandra?”

Sakura shrugged. “I needed to get his attention. This seemed to be the form that would be the most capable of it.”

Ezekiel snorted. “Tell me about it.”

There was a sudden loud roar from inside the house that was followed by a scream. The front door opened and a woman in her early sixties came running from the house. She had dark brown hair and wide frightened blue eyes. The resemblance between her and Stone was very clear.

“Mom!” Jake yelled as he ran up the steps and wrapped his arms around her. He pulled away and then checked her over for any injuries. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“It’s—It’s your father, he’s…I don’t know what he is but he’s not…” Her sentence trailed away and her eyes watered before she embraced her oldest son tightly. “What is happening, Jacob?”

Another roar sounded from inside the house and Jake used one arm to pull his mom away from the door and then other to back Cassandra down the stairs. Eve stepped out in front of all of them with her gun raised to the door.

“Just a guess, but is that the nogitsune everyone keeps talking about?” Eve asked. “The thing that’s roaring like some bloodthirsty monster?”

“Yes,” Natsuki told her with a nod.

“Oh, fun,” Eve said sarcastically. “This just keeps getting better.”

“Gaurdian?” Flynn asked with a feigned lightness.

“Yes, Librarian?” She asked as the group backed down the steps and away from the porch.

“As we know next to nothing about how to defend ourselves against this creature, I highly suggest we regroup and reassess,” He said with a nervous gulp.

“I second that suggestion,” Ezekiel said as he hid behind the railing of the porch.

“Right, good plan,” Eve said as she kept a watch on the door with her gun pointed ahead of her. “Everyone, back to the Door! Now!”

They all turned and ran except for Jake and Mrs. Stone. Jake stared at the open door with concern and moved to go up the steps again but Mrs. Stone tugged on his arm. “Jacob…don’t. He wasn’t himself. You can’t go in there alone.”

“We can’t just leave him,” Jake said as he swallowed thickly.

Cassandra stopped when she noticed Jake wasn’t with the group and came back for the two of them. She placed a hand on his other arm and he immediately turned to meet her eyes. She shook her head but gave him a sympathetic look.

“No one is going anywhere alone,” she said with a soft grin as she repeated his words to her from earlier that day. “Jake, we’ll come back. We’re not leaving him forever,” she said softly. “We just need to figure out how to save him first. We’ve got to have a plan. Please, let’s go.”

He nodded hesitantly and allowed her to lead him away. Mrs. Stone followed closely with an interested expression. What had her son been up to while he was away? And who were these people that seemed to know him so well?

* * *

 

“The diner?” Mrs. Stone asked. “We’re retreating to the diner?”

Eve and Flynn gave her a startled look as if they’d just remembered her presence.

“Um, Stone?” Flynn asked leadingly. He was asking whether he thought they should take her with them.

Cassandra saved him the trouble of answering. “We can’t leave her here alone. We have to take her with us.”

Jake gave her a grateful smile and nodded. “I’m not leaving unless I know she’s safe.”

“Alright,” Eve said with a nod. “Then you may want to break it to her now. Might be a bit of a shock.”

“Wait,” Ezekiel said in confusion. “Can she even go through the Door? I thought only people who came from the Door or exceptionally magical people could go through the Door?”

“What is this door yall keep talking about?” Mrs. Stone asked with a huff. “And take me where?”

“Mom,” Jake said softly as he pulled her aside. “Y’know how I told you and dad I was in Texas? Well…I wasn’t.”

“Oh we knew that, sweetie. We heard from your dad’s friend Sam about a week after you left, you know the one who works there, and he was very firm that he’d not seen hide nor hair of you,” She told him gently.

He blinked at her. “You knew? You and dad knew that I was…lying?”

“Of course we did. Honey, you’re not a very good liar,” she told him with a shake of her head. “I could always tell when you snuck out to go where ever it was you used to go. You were nervous for hours before.”

Cassandra grinned at him and suppressed a chuckle. “With the cover stories you make up for us sometimes I believe it.”

“Cover stories,” Mrs. Stone said with a perceptive stare at her oldest son. “Jacob Stone, what have you been up to?”

“Yes, _Jacob_ , what have you been up to?” Ezekiel asked him with a pointed smirk.

“You, young man, you stay out of this,” Mrs. Stone told him sternly. “I know a trouble maker when I see one.”

This time Cassandra really did laugh. Ezekiel looked startled and glanced down at the ground sheepishly. For that reaction alone, Cassandra decided she liked Jake’s mother.

“Mom,” Jake said with a small smile. “I’m a Librarian.”

Her brow furrowed. “A Librarian who needs cover stories? Jacob, you tell me the truth right now.”

“If you know when I’m lying then shouldn’t you know if I’m telling the truth?” He asked her. “I am a Librarian, just…not a traditional one.”

“Maybe,” Flynn said as he interrupted. “It’s best if we show you. Mrs. Stone?” Flynn asked as he offered her his arm. “Allow me.”

“What about the Door?” Cassandra asked worriedly. “Did we decide if we could take additional people through?”

“Or if we _should_ take additional people through,” Eve said as she gave Sakura and Natsuki anxious glances.

“I have enough magic in me to share,” Flynn said with a grin. “So does Cassandra for that matter. The Door will allow for additional travelers if we're with them. Mrs. Stone just needs a proper escort.”

Mrs. Stone smiled warmly at him and patted Flynn’s cheek before she accepted his arm. “Now, you, I like. Charming.”

Eve chuckled. “You have no idea.”

Flynn led Mrs. Stone through the diner ahead of them.

Cassandra then turned to Eve and spoke quietly, “Are we taking _them_?” She nodded her head toward Natsuki and Sakura. “Also, the fact that _she_ still looks like me is seriously weirding me out.”

“The question is,” Eve asked her. “Do we need them? Because if we can make a solid plan without them I’d rather leave them here.”

“They’ve been hunting this nogitsune, haven’t they?” Cassandra asked.

Jake heard them whispering and leaned toward them. “Not just this one. This is what they _do_. Sakura told me.”

Cassandra quirked a brow at him. “Did she? What else did she tell you?” She asked in a snippy tone.

Now that Ezekiel had told him about Cassandra’s jealousy he could definitely hear it. “Just things regarding the case. That’s all.”

Eve sighed. “So, we need them. Damn it.” She then turned to the women and nodded toward the diner. “Alright, Foxy and Loxy, you’re with us. You make one wrong move, and I don’t care how immortal you are I _will_ shoot you. Got it?”

Sakura nodded and as she did so her copper hair shined in the Oklahoma sun. “Got it.”

Jake walked on ahead with Eve. Ezekiel, Cassandra, and the sisters brought up the rear.

“Okay,” Cassandra said with an irritated huff as she waved a hand at Sakura while they walked. “Can you… _change_ or something because you’re really freaking me out.”

Sakura bowed her head briefly before she waved a hand down the length of her torso and her appearance faded into a slender raven haired woman who was close to identical to Natsuki. “Better?” She asked as they stopped at the front door to the diner.

Cassandra let out a relieve breath and nodded. “Yes, thank you.” Ezekiel opened the door for them with a chuckle and Cassandra glared at him. She turned to the sisters as they approached the door to the kitchen. “So, if someone magical who previously went through the door had to escort Mrs. Stone I suppose that means I have to escort the two of you.” She sighed and then motioned for them to follow her. “So, come on then, let’s go.”

“Jenkins is gonna love this,” Ezekiel said with a chuckle as he walked through the door behind them.


	6. Act 5: Regroup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to regroup at The Annex and formulate a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to post this over the weekend but I got caught up in Warehouse 13 and totally forgot. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I included some Evelynn in this one! Happy reading!

 

The back door opened, Flynn walked through with an older woman on his arm, and Jenkins furrowed his brow. Since when were they in the habit of bringing people back to the Annex? He made a harrumphing sound under his breath and crossed his arms before he leaned against a nearby wooden podium and glowered at The Librarian. He was just changing all the rules, wasn’t he? Then Baird and Stone followed them through and that’s when Jenkins noticed the resemblance between the woman and Stone. He raised a brow at that and smirked. Now things were getting interesting. He still didn’t approve but at least this was intriguing. Stone’s worlds were finally colliding.

Lastly, Cassandra and Ezekiel appeared with two strikingly beautiful women holding onto Cassie’s Jacket as they walked through the door. Jenkins's grin fell and his palms began to sweat nervously. He immediately tried to slink back into his lab. How ironic. He’d been enjoying Stone’s worlds colliding but the idea of his colliding was _not_ enjoyable at all.

“Galeas?”

He froze and bit back a curse. He was hoping to hide in his lab before he was seen.

All heads turned toward Sakura as she stared curiously at Jenkins. “It _is_ you!”

Jenkins turned slowly and nearly grumbled at the sight of Mr. Stone smirking at him.

“The Lady Sakura,” he said with a small bow. “How many years has it been?” he asked politely.

“To say would reveal my age and I’d rather not,” she answered with a chuckle as she hesitantly stepped closer to him. There was a lingering tension that no one could put their finger on. Sakura looked as if she wanted to say more, but quickly changed her mind.

“I am well acquainted with that feeling,” he agreed.

“I’m sorry, how do you know Jenkins?” Stone asked, almost gleefully. He hadn't missed Jenkins smirk when he'd recognized the family resemblance earlier.

“Mr. Carsen,” Jenkins said loudly. “What lovely creature have you brought with you through our _private_ door?” He turned a pointed look at Stone and silently warned him that two could play this game.

“Mr. Jenkins, this is Mrs. Stone. Mr. Stone’s mother,” Flynn introduced.

“I know this place isn’t stashed in the back of Merle’s Diner,” Mrs. Stone said as she glanced around the Annex with wide eyes.

“No, it’s not,” Jones said with a grin. “When you walked through that door you arrived in Portland, Oregon.”

“What?” She asked in surprise. “I’m on the other side of the country? That’s not possible.”

“Actually, mom, it is,” Jake told her as he nervously scratched the back of his neck. “It’s…” he paused and sighed hopelessly. She was going to think he was crazy. “Magic.”

“Magic is not real, Jacob,” his mother said. Though she didn’t look like she believed her own words.

Cassandra cleared her throat and held out her palm expectantly. In a flash her notebook flew across the room and landed in her hand. “Actually, it kind of is.” She grinned proudly at Mrs. Stone.

Jake’s mother blinked at her in surprise. “How did you do that?”

“Magic, Mrs. Stone,” Flynn told her with a kind smile.

“Magic is real,” she repeated to herself. She looked form Cassandra to Jacob. “Can you do that?”

He smiled fondly at Cassandra and then shook his head at his mother. “No, that’s Cassie’s thing.”

“And science and math. Don’t forget the science and math,” Cassie added eagerly.

“And the occasional hallucination,” Jones added for good measure.

“Yes,” Cassie sneered at him. “Thanks for that reminder.”

“And what’s your thing, sweetie?” His mother asked Jacob curiously.

The moment of truth, he thought with a nervous gulp. “Art History, architecture.”

“Anthropology,” Cassandra added for him with a proud grin.

He chuckled and shrugged. “Sometimes. Not my best subject though. I dabble.”

“All those times you snuck out of the house when you were in school, it wasn’t to go off drinking with your buddies, was it?” She asked in what looked like relief.

“No, mom,” he said with a confused glance. “It wasn’t.”

“And all that time you used to lock yourself up in your room…”

“Studying, writing, reading. Whatever I could get my hands on,” he told her.

“Why on God’s Green Earth would you hide _that_?” Mrs. Stone asked him. “Do you know how many different _horrible_ things I imagined you doing when you snuck out of the house or locked yourself in your room? God, if I’d have known you were studying I wouldn’t have worried so much.” She left Flynn’s side to stand in front of her son. She pointed an accusing finger at him. “No more lying. I don’t care how old you are, I will ground you. Understood?”

Eve chuckled and smiled at the woman. “Oh, I do like you, Mrs. Stone.”

“It wasn’t you I was worried about, mom,” Jake told her honestly as he ignored Baird.

Realization flashed across her features. “I see. Well, at the time you may have had a valid point.” She reached for him and pulled her to him. “I’m sorry, Jacob. I’m truly sorry.” She hugged him tightly and reached a hand up to pat the back of his had comfortingly. “You should never have had to hide who you are from us.”

He was stunned. Stunned beyond his capacity for anything else. He returned her embrace and held her tightly too. They stayed like that for a long moment and he’d forgotten his colleagues were watching them. She pulled back and then placed a hand on either side of his face and smiled gently at him before she whispered, “Just how _smart_ are you?”

He laughed and even to his ears the laugh sounded soggy. His eyes were bit watery and so he cleared his throat to make sure it didn’t show in his voice. “My IQ is 190.”

“Well, I’ll be. My boy’s a genius, and my mother-in-law said my kids would never amount to anything,” Mrs. Stone said with a smirk before she glanced down at the floor. “Who’s laughing now, Irma? Huh?”

Jake laughed again and patted his mother’s hands that were still on his face. “Mom, Grandma’s been gone for 15 years. I don’t think you have to prove anything to her anymore.”

“I know,” she told him. “Still fun to rub it in, though. Let me have this.”

He pulled her hands form his face and hugged her one last time before he remembered where they were and why he was having to confess everything to her to begin with. They were here to save his father. His _dad_ was in danger. They had their issues, but he didn’t deserve to be worn like a meat suit by a Japanese Fox Demon. No one did.

“So,” Cassandra said once the moment had passed. She quickly gave Stone a stellar smile and he returned it with a softer one. “How do we get rid of this thing?” She aimed that question at Sakura and Natsuki.

“You can’t,” Sakura answered. “Nogitsune cannot be destroyed.”

“But we can exorcise it,” Natsuki added. “We just don’t have anything strong enough to hold this one. Our usual scrolls won’t do. We tried that already.”

“No, we can’t. We can't exorcise this one,” Sakura corrected her. “With a weaker nogitsune we could but this one is exceptionally strong. We won’t be able to force it out of it's host. It will need to come out willingly. Which it won’t do for anyone but a Librarian and then we would need to find something strong enough to hold it. The only possible things that are strong enough to hold it have been lost for centuries and would take us months to find. We don’t have months.”

“Lost,” Jenkins offered. “Or stored away? It’s possible we have something in the Library that could be of use. But once you draw it out, how do you keep it still long enough to capture it?”

“I could do it,” Cassandra said as she raised her hand. “I’ve been practicing keeping things suspended in mid air. I could hold it.”

“Cassie,” Jake said in concern. “This is a little different than me throwing a book at you and seeing if your powers can catch it. You don’t know what would happen.”

“Trust me, Jake, if you have a better idea I’m all ears,” Cassandra said. “I’m not exactly looking forward to facing a fox demon.”

He looked around at the other geniuses in the room but no one else seemed to have any ideas either. He sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Fine, but if you’re holding it then I’m drawing it out. It came to Owayne for me, didn’t it? I think I should face this bastard for myself.”

“No, no!” Eve said with a sigh. “I do not like this plan. You can’t go in there. Not alone. That’s what it wants.”

“Colonel Baird,” Jake said pleadingly. “It has my dad. I have to do this.”

Eve let out a short and low growl before she threw her hands up in the air in resignation. “Fine. Do what you want. Who needs a Guardian anyway?” She turned and left headed toward the Annex’s exit and Flynn watched her go worriedly. He then turned to Jenkins. “Jenkins, you, Sakura, and Natsuki need to search the library for anything we can use to trap the Ninko. If you need additional help let us know. Time is of the essence. We need to find something fast.”

Jenkins nodded. “I will work quickly and thoroughly.” He turned the Globe by the door and then motioned for the sisters to follow him as he opened the door to the main Library. “Ladies, let’s begin.”

“Cassandra, I want you to practice your magic like you’ve never practiced before. Understand? I do not plan on losing any of you today,” Flynn told his three Librarians before he turned and raced after Eve.

There was a tense silence left in Eve’s wake and after a long silence Jake’s mom leaned toward him and nodded her head toward Cassandra before she whispered. “So, is that the girl you like?” 

He grinned and chuckled. His mother would always be his mother. Even in a crisis.

* * *

 

Flynn found Eve outside of the building leaning against the wall by the door. She had her arms crossed and she was glaring at the sky above them.

“Why do Librarians even have Guardians?” Eve asked as she shook her head. She knew he was there before he’d even stepped out of the door. “You all seem determined to do things without one.”

“They need you. You know they do,” Flynn told her softly as he leaned on the wall next to her.

“Do they?” She said doubtfully. “Jones has faced dangerous situations on his own for years. Cassandra has magic now. And Stone has gotten better at fighting smarter. The only thing I offer is my gun and half the time it doesn’t even work on the things we face.”

“And to think, last week you were worried about having too much work,” Flynn said as he attempted a joke. The look Eve gave him told him she did not find him amusing. He cleared his throat and quickly grew serious again. “You’re still needed. Jones would still rather hide or run than fight but he’s not going to leave Cassandra or Stone behind. Ever. That makes him vulnerable. After all, he doesn’t do punchy, remember? And Cassandra’s magic is unstable at best. She’s learning but she’s extremely far away from being able to consistently defend herself with it. And Stone, well, he can’t protect himself and the other two. But you know he’d try. They’re best when they work together, when they can watch each other’s backs, but they still can’t handle it all on their own. They need you. If only to offer them guidance and save them from themselves. You helped make them as strong as they are now, but there’s still plenty more that you can teach them.” He said as he reached over and held her hand in his. He linked their fingers together and then brought the back of her hand to his lips. “And they’re not the only ones. I know there’s more I have to learn. You’ve already taught me one very important lesson.”

“And what’s that?” she asked as he pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her waist.

He took a deep breath and then smiled warmly at her. “That maybe I do need a family, after all.”

She smirked at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You are working really hard at earning some serious brownie points.”

“How am I doing so far?” He asked with a grin.

“Exceptionally well,” she told him. “You definitely have an excess balance of them.”

“Good, because if we’re going to be living together I feel like I’m going to need them,” he said with a chuckle. “A lot of them.”

“Shut up and kiss me, Librarian,” Eve said with a chuckle.

“If you insist, Guardian,” Flynn said as he closed the distance between them and kissed her deeply. Oh yes, having a Guardian was definitely an improvement to the solitary existence he’d had before.

* * *

 

“What am I supposed to do while you and Stone are off playing the heroes?” Jones asked Cassandra with a pout.

Cassandra turned to him curiously. “Do _you_ want to face the fox demon?”

“Not particularly, but I don’t wanna just stand there while you two get all the glory,” he grumbled.

“Hey, troublemaker,” Mrs. Stone said with a glare. “You leave that girl alone. She’s practicing. In fact, why don’t you show me where the kitchen in this place is so I can make coffee or sandwiches or something. How long has it been since any of you have eaten, anyway?” When Ezekiel didn’t move she tapped her foot impatiently. “Well, come on then. Move,” she said as she took a step forward and pointed a stern motherly stare on him.

Ezekiel hesitantly moved away from Cassandra and led Mrs. Stone toward the kitchen with a disagreeable sulk in his step. Cassandra was grateful for it. Jones had been talking in her ear non-stop since Baird had stormed off. She loved the kid like a brother but he’d been giving her a headache that she really didn’t need.

“You’ll be fine, Cass,” Jake suddenly said as he approached her. “I’ll be there if you need me.”

She smiled serenely at him and nodded. “I know. You always are. I wish you’d let me do the same for you sometime.”

“What are you talking about? You’ve got my back on every case. I know that,” he told her with a furrowed brow.

“That’s not the same, Jacob,” she said with a sigh. “You’re always here for me when I’m dealing with my weakness,” she said as she tapped her temple. “But you won’t let me help you with yours. I really wish you’d lean on me just a little.”

“I know. I want to. I just…I can’t get used to having someone to share this with. In my head I still have to keep things separate. It’s the only thing I’ve known and it’s…it’s an instinct at this point,” he told her honestly. “It’s something I have to work at.”

“You mom reacted fairly well,” Cassie told him with a smile.

He looked relieved and took a long contented breath. “Yes, very well, actually. But I was never really worried about her reaction. I never told her because I didn’t want her to have to lie for me or deal with the guilt of not being _able_ to lie for me.”

“Still, it must be nice to know that someone in your family knows now,” she said hopefully. “There’s one less person you have to hide from in the world. And maybe someday, you won’t feel like you have to hide from anyone.”

He smiled softly at her. “You have an awful lot of faith in me.”

She bit her bottom lip shyly before she spoke again. “I just don’t think someone who knows what you know should have to hide from it. Your knowledge is beautiful and not just because you study art. You know about people and architecture. You know about the things that shape and fill the world. You should be able to share all of that. You’ve got too much to offer to keep it all to yourself, that’s all.”

He stared at her in amazement for a long moment. No one had ever said anything like that to him. At least no one who wasn’t already involved in the Art History field. They had complete opposite specialties and yet here she was telling him that his gift was beautiful. But she was the girl who _experienced_ math and science. She didn’t just do it. She saw it, tasted it, smelled it, and heard it. She _felt it_. To him, _that_ was beautiful. She was beautiful.

“What?” She asked him with wide eyes.

Did he say that out loud? “What?” He asked cluelessly.

“Did you just call me beautiful?” Cassie asked with a pretty blush.

The soft smile and the blush made him forget any thought of denying it. Instead he decided to lean into it. He smiled bashfully at her and then nodded. “Well, you are. You absolutely are.”

She approached him and didn’t stop until she was only a few inches away. She focused her eyes on his and smiled brightly at him. “Jake…”

She paused and he held his breath. “Yes?”

“I’ve been thinking—“

“We found it!” Jenkins said as the Back Door flew open and he and the sisters entered the room.

Jake sighed irritably at the interuption but turned to face the old man to see just what he had found and was surprised to see him holding a long thin mirror with an ornate gold frame. Jake tilted his head thoughtfully at the sight of the frame and the reflective quality of the glass. “Is that a 16th century Venetian mirror?”

“ _Queen Mary the First’s_ Venetian mirror, actually, Mr. Stone,” Jenkins said proudly. “The same mirror that started that nasty Bloody Mary mess. Her spirit was trapped in here for hundreds of years.”

“So, we can trap the nogitsune in the mirror?” Cassandra asked. “How?”

“This mirror was created to capture and reveal spirits. It will do all the work,” Jenkins told her. “Someone simply needs to make sure the demon is reflected in the glass.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Jake said with a shrug.

Natsuki laughed. “Have you ever tried to catch a demon’s reflection, Mr. Stone?”

“No, I can’t say I have,” He said with a glare. The laughter was not appreciated.

“It takes stealth and cunning and an incredible amount of luck,” Natsuki told him.

Cassandra let out a loud chortling laugh and then lightly elbowed Stone. “Who do we know that fits that description?”

Stone smirked and chuckled. “Looks like we found something for Jones to do, after all.”

 


	7. Act 06: Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even after everything they’d just went through he was still terrified. He could face down an actual demon but the demons of his own past were a completely different story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one more update before this one is complete! And I think you guys will really like this act and the upcoming tag! Btw, Happy Fourth of July to all my fellow Americans and a happy belated Canada day to all my Canadian friends! Happy Reading!  
> angellwings

“Why do I get the most life threatening part?” Ezekiel asked with a pout.

Jake smirked at him. “Because you’re awesome. Remember?” 

Ezekiel narrowed his eyes at him. “You’ve been waiting for the right moment to use that against me, haven’t you?”

“Odds are I was bound to get a chance sometime,” Jake said with a grin.

“Besides,” Cassandra said with a roll of her eyes. “We’re all doing something dangerous. Jake is risking being possessed by the thing,” Cassie said nervously. “And I’m using magic that I’m not sure I have a complete handle on yet, which could go horribly for all of us. So, you know, if it ends bad it’s most likely my fault.”

“It won’t be your fault, Cass. Even if we fail, which we won’t, it won’t be because of you,” Jake told her with a determined nod. He shot a grin at Ezekiel. “It’ll be because of Jones.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Stone,” Ezekiel said with a sigh.

“My pleasure.”

“Yes, this is a _solid_ plan,” Eve said through gritted teeth. “A solid plan to complete with _out_ a Guardian.” Sarcasm dripped off of her words.

“Dear,” Mrs. Stone said quietly as she placed a hand on Eve’s arm. “Could you do anything to help them fight it?” She asked knowingly. Eve sighed and shook her head. “Could you shoot it?” Eve gave the woman a small grin and then shook her head again. “Then stop beating yourself up about it. Just be here if they need you. That’s all you can do.”

Eve took a deep calming breath and nodded. “Thanks, Mrs. Stone.”

“Please, call me Debbie,” she said kindly.

“Well, this is encouraging,” Natsuki said as she glanced over the group in annoyance. “It’s a wonder you all manage to work together in any capacity whatsoever.” Sakura elbowed her sister and gave her a scolding glare. “What?” Natsuki asked her defensively. “We were both thinking it.”

“They’ll pull through when it counts,” Flynn said with a chuckle. “They always do.”

“Amazingly enough,” Jenkins added in exasperation as he set the door. “If one of you is possessed by an evil Japanese fox demon please do not bring it into my Annex.”

“ _Our_ Annex,” Ezekiel corrected him.

Jenkins mouth almost formed a smile before he nodded and said, “our Annex. I tried to move the door to a more accessible location. Though, I can’t make any guarantees.” He motioned to the door and handed Mr. Jones the tall thin Venetian mirror before the group walked through the door to head back to Owayne.

Flynn was the last one out and turned back to see where the door had dropped them off. They had still walked into the diner, but this time they’d come out of the restroom. Flynn chuckled as a few patrons gave them strange looks. There was only one small restroom with no stall in the place. No wonder they were giving them strange looks.

The looks didn’t stop either. They must have looked like an odd group to these people. Walking down the sidewalk with a large ornate mirror on tow. Stone’s cover in this town was most likely all but blown. Though, Flynn supposed Jake was so concerned about his father that he hadn’t noticed just yet. They stopped at the Japanese restaurant they’d been at before to pick up the food the Stones had ordered before they headed toward the house.

They made it to the Stone Family home. The door was still cracked open. Eve pushed it open warily, before anyone else could attempt to go first. She motioned with a closed fist for the others to stay at the door as she cleared the first floor. She waved them all in once that was done and the group invaded the living room. The home was simply furnished and full of family photos and knick knacks. Nothing down stairs had been disturbed.

Mrs. Stone turned to Jake. “He must still be upstairs where I left him.” Her eyes fearfully looked toward the stairs. “He was snarling and foaming at the mouth, and his eyes…they weren’t his eyes.”

Jake placed a hand on his mother’s back and gave her a quick hug. “Don’t worry, mom. We’ve got this. Stay here?”

“I’ve got her,” Eve told him with a small smile. “Ash, Kristofferson, you’re down here with me,” she told Sakura and Natsuki as she motioned to them. The sisters traded confused glances.

Sakura leaned toward Natsuki and whispered, “Does she not remember our names?”

Eve sighed. “It’s a reference to—you know what, never mind. Just stay down here with me. We’ll keep Mrs. Stone in the kitchen. It’s only open on one side, we can defend it easier. Flynn, stay by the door. If this goes bad we’ll need to try and keep it contained to the house.”

She waited for everyone to nod in acknowledgement before she nodded at the three Junior Librarians. She handed Cassandra the take out container they’d picked up on the way to the house.

“Ganbatte,” Natsuki said quickly as they started up the steps.

Stone gave her a small grateful smile and replied. “Un, ganabaru.”

“What was that?” Ezekiel asked Stone with a furrowed brow as he followed him up the stairs.

“It’s Japanese. It means ‘do your best.’ It’s the equivalent of wishing someone good luck, basically,” he told the thief.  They walked up the stairs and down the hall with quiet foot steps and then stopped outside of the bedroom at the end of the hall. “This is their room,” Jake told them. He glanced to Cassie first and then Ezekiel. “Ready?”

Cassie nodded and took a deep nervous breath.

“Let’s do this,” Ezekiel said as he gripped the mirror tighter. “The sooner we finish this, the sooner I can put this down. My arms are getting tired.”

Jake rolled his eyes and shook his head before he placed a hand on the doorknob. Cassie placed a hand over his to get his attention. He turned to look at her expectantly.

“Please, be careful,” she told him quietly.

He smiled warmly at her for a moment before he nodded and answered. “You too.”

Ezekiel grinned at the both of them secretively and shook his head. Could they be more obvious?

Jake cautiously opened the door and took the take out container from Cassie. He opened it and held it out in front of him. The man lying in bed was definitely not his father anymore. His eyes were black, he was drooling and snarling, and foaming at the mouth. Exactly as Mrs. Stone had said. He was also surrounded by tons of empty bowls and empty cans. His clothes and the bed sheets were covered in food stains.

“Apparently, nogitsunes like to stuff their faces,” Ezekiel said with a disgusted face.

“The cans are all beans,” Cassandra said observantly as they edged their way toward the bed. Something rustled under her foot and Mr. Stone's head jerked toward them. Cassandra gasped and all three of them froze. She glanced down to see an empty bag of black eyed peas under her foot. “Yeah, this thing definitely has a thing for beans,” Cassie whispered. It’s dark gaze focused on Cassandra and it followed her as if she were the only person in the room. “Okay, that’s creepy.”

“Natsuki did say it would want the most magical being it could find,” Ezekiel reminded her.

Jake glared at the thing in his father’s body. “Yeah, well, that’s not happening.” He shook the food container at it and it’s stare moved from Cassandra to Jake. “You smell that? I’m sure you do. Somebody told us you liked tofu. That true? I know you didn't find any in this house. The guy you’re using wouldn’t be caught dead eating tofu.”

It sniffed the air and snarled as it moved toward the edge of the bed.

“Somebody also told us you wanted a Librarian,” Jake said as he stepped closer to the bed. “Well, you got three, jackass. Why don’t you come on out of there and pick one of us instead of using him. Huh?”

Cassie watched Jake approach him nervously. She couldn’t help but imagine Jake being possessed by that thing in place of his father. His father who looked exactly like a middle aged version of Jake and who would look sickly and weak if he wasn’t for the terrifying black eyes and the foaming mouth and the unnaturally feral way he moved. She fisted her hands and watched both men closely and waited for any signs the nogitsune was leaving Mr. Stone’s body.

Those black eyes zeroed in on Jake and then slowly Mr. Stone’s body went limp and a black cloud of smoke appeared in the room. Cassandra immediately held up her hands and focused all her energy on holding it in place. She felt it struggling against her powers and winced in pain. She forced herself to visualize Jake or Ezekiel being possessed as a result of her failure and that seemed to spur her on. Knowing what she could lose made her fight harder. She would not fail. She would not let one of her friends be this things next victim. She refused. She barely registered Ezekiel sprinting forward with the mirror. The cloud lunged at the shimmering fuschia shield Cassandra had built around it and she took a deep breath to hold it steady.

She could hear someone calling her name but she couldn’t seem to attach it to anyone in the room. She felt like she was floating away. The ceiling fan in the room caught her attention and suddenly she could see the math for the number of rotations per second in front of her. _Shit_. Now is not the time, she told herself. A strangled cry escaped her lips and then suddenly there was a hand on the small of her back and breath on her neck.

“Cassandra,” she could hear Jake say soothingly. “You can let it go now. Ezekiel’s ready with the mirror.” She heard him but she couldn’t seem to move. She was too terrified of failing. He reached out and placed another hand on her wrist. “Darlin’, trust me. Trust Ezekiel. You gotta let the thing go.”

She closed her eyes and fisted her hands and cut the connection to the magic holding the nogitsune in place. She collapsed against Stone and a blinding light filled the room as Ezekiel trapped the spirit in the mirror. Ezekiel snatched a quilt off the bed and quickly covered the reflective surface of the mirror and then ran to check on Mr. Stone who was passed out on the bed. Jake steadied Cassie and then turned her to look at him.

She had really scared him for a moment there. He and Ezekiel both had been yelling for her to let the nogitsune go for several minutes before he’d finally made his way to her. Her eyes had been unfocused and lost and a small drop of blood had trickled from her nose. He knew then he had to do something. This time she’d heard him and come back from whatever was happening in her mind.

“You okay, Cassie?” He asked as he searched her eyes. She looked foggy and dazed but she managed to nod slowly.  He walked her over to the arm chair in the corner and sat her down. “It’s over, sweetheart,” he said soothingly. “We got it. Stay here. I’m gonna go check on my dad, okay?”

She nodded again and took a deep breath as Jake left her side. He gave her hesitant worried glances during the short walk to his father’s side and then immediately sent Ezekiel to sit with Cassandra.

“He’s got a pulse,” Ezekiel told him. “He’s definitely alive. But we should probably call an ambulance just in case.”

Jake nodded. “You guys get that mirror back to the Library. I’ll take care of this.”

Ezekiel pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket as he reached Cassandra and handed it to her. She silently took it and held it to her nose. Ezekiel picked up the mirror, careful to keep it covered with the quilt and then used his other hand to help Cassandra up and steady her. She was still a bit wobbly on her feet. Jake watched them go worriedly before he turned back to his father and propped him up against the headboard.

He sighed and looked at his mess of a father. “How ya doin’, dad? Better now, probably, right?”

There was no response and Jake smiled sadly at him before he squeezed one of his father’s limp hands. He could hear his mother clamoring up the stairs as Jake reached for the house phone to call for an ambulance. Ezekiel was right, once again. His dad needed to be checked out for any complications. None of them really knew what this thing might have done to him. His mother ran into the room and Jake stood up from the bed to let her take his place next to Mr. Stone. He wandered down the stairs with the phone to his ear. Eve and Flynn nodded to him as they ushered everyone out of his house. It was best that all evidence of the Library and the Librarians weren’t here when the paramedics arrived.

* * *

 

They returned to the Annex without Jake and Jenkins immediately stored the mirror, under a more firm covering, in the Library’s vault for the truly dangerous objects. Since the last break-in the Library had created a separate room with more thorough protection for anything that might cause mass destruction on an apocalyptic level.

“Thank you all for your help,” Sakura told them with a bow of her head. “We knew the Librarians would be here for us when we needed them.”

“Next time,” Eve said sternly. “Try just asking us for help. Let’s keep the kidnapping at a minimum, okay?”

Natsuki smirked and nodded. “I think we can manage that.”

Sakura then turned and smiled coyly at Jenkins. “Galeas.”

He gave her a curious look.

She handed him a card and winked at him. “In case you ever need us to return the favor, you can reach us here. Or if you ever just want to get together and reminisce.”

Flynn’s eyebrows flew upward at that and he gave Eve a startled look.

“I’ve earned my ninth tail since we saw each other last and you know how many years that takes. It’s been far too long. Don’t let it be that long again,” Sakura said with a smirk.

Jenkins gulped nervously and tugged at his tie. “I will certainly keep that in mind, Lady Sakura.” He bowed his head to her and she chuckled at him.

“Always so formal,” Sakura said with a chuckle. “Come, Natsuki. We should go.”

“It has been an honor to meet all of you,” Natsuki told them all with a smile. “Next time we meet I hope it will be under happier circumstances.”

And with that the women turned and left the Annex. Ezekiel immediately turned to Jenkins with a grin.

“Good on ya, Jenkins. I think that kitsune has a thing for you,” Ezekiel told him.

“She is certainly very _foxy_ ,” Flynn added with a smirk.

“Oh, honey, no,” Eve said with a shake of her head. “No fox puns. _Please_.”

“But—“

“Just don’t,” Eve said with a grin. “Trust me.”

Cassandra had been strangely quiet through the whole exchange but she suddenly cleared her throat and spoke up softly. “If anyone needs me I’ll be upstairs.”

They all watched her leave with worried expressions. Ezekiel slowly followed after her. He chose not to say anything until they’d made it to a far corner of the mezzanine.

“You okay, kid?” He asked as he sat down next to her at a small table.

“I almost lost myself out there today,” she told him honestly. “I could feel my mind slipping away. I—It was terrifying. My mind started trying to do math and magic all at once and I couldn’t get a grip on what was happening in the room around me. It was like something out of my nightmares. Me, trapped in my own mind. If it wasn’t for Jake…”

“Yeah, he helps a lot with,” Ezekiel paused and gently tapped her temple. “ _That._ Doesn’t’ he? It’s always been that way.”

“I don’t know why or how, but yes. He gets through when nothing else does,” she admitted.

“Must be nice,” Ezekiel said as he bumped her shoulder playfully. “To have someone just… _understand_. Some of us never get that.”

She blinked at him for a long moment as she thought about his words. “I’ve never looked at it that way before.”

“I’m going to admit something to you that I will deny if you ever tell anyone else,” Ezekiel said as he leaned back in his chair.

Cassandra nodded and smiled at him. “I understand.”

“I’m a little jealous.”

She gave him a startled look.

“Not like that, no. I’m jealous of the connection the two of you have. It’s—well the only word I can think of is— _magical_. From day one, even if there were some complications at the start, it was there. Never seen anything like it before for myself,” he told her. “Don’t think I’ll ever have it for myself, either, so _sometimes_ I get a little jealous of it. Plus, you’re my favorite of everyone here, and I know that when the day comes that you and Stone actually get your acts together I’ll see less of you. So that plays a factor in that jealousy too. Never really had a _friend_ before you, Cass.”

She smiled warmly at her younger friend and then scooted her chair closer to his. She leaned back like him and then rested her head on his shoulder. “You were my first friend in a very long time, Ezekiel. No matter what else happens that will always be the case.”

* * *

 

Jake’s dad had come to while the paramedics were checking him out. They’d given him a clean bill of health. They said he was suffering from fatigue and exhaustion and recommended he get several days rest. Everyone was now leaving and soon it would be just himself, his dad, and his mother in the house. Which would lave Jake to face his lies and his father. Even after everything they’d just went through he was still terrified. He could face down an actual demon but the demons of his own past were a completely different story.

“How ya feeling, dad?” He asked once the three of them were alone.

“Like I had something evil bouncing around in my skull for a day,” he said as he took a couple of Tylenol. “Which apparently I did. Go figure.”

Mrs. Stone smiled gently at him and settled into the bed next to him. She placed a kiss on his temple. “Glad you’re back.”

“Me too,” he said with a weak smile. He turned to face Jake with a genuine curious glance. “How are you, son?”

Jake bit back his instinct to scoff and respond sarcastically. He’d had an attitude with his father since he turned 18. If he didn’t respect then man then why should he act like it? “Pretty good, actually. Mom tells me you guys knew I wasn’t in Texas.”

“You’ve never been the best liar,” his dad said honestly.

“So I’ve been told,” he grumbled.

“Is this the part where you tell us the truth about where you’ve been?” Sam asked with a quirked brow and a parental stare.

“Sam,” Debbie said with a scolding glare.

Sam huffed and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…keep going, Jacob.”

“I’m working in Portland, Oregon,” Jake said with a sigh. This wasn’t off to the best start. “I’m a Librarian.”

“A…Librarian?” Sam asked with a doubtful tone.

“And an Art Historian.”

“An… _Art Historian_? Since _when_?” Sam asked in a raised voice.

“Sam,” Debbie said again as she pinched her husband’s arm. He winced and then took a deep breath. She stood from the bed and then leaned against the wall by the door. She could see the argument coming.

“I studied any chance I got, that’s how,” Jake said with a glare. “While you were out drinkin’ and trying to turn me into you I was here or at the school library studying my ass off. Learning about things you could never understand, things you wouldn’t appreciate. Beauty, art, culture. The world beyond this suffocating town—“

“Suffocating town? Our family _built_ this town. This town is in your blood, boy. You might wanna be a bit more respectful when you talk about it. Whether you like it or not this is where your roots are. No matter where you end up, you’ll always be from _here_. From this family,” his father said with a shake of his head. “I don’t understand why you’ve spent your whole life trying to run from that. When I was your age, I was settled, married with kids—not off gallivanting the world studying old canvases—“

“You know, I don’t have to stick around for this,” Jake sneered. He turned and paced as he continued. “I got people who understand what I want and who I am now. I got people who care about who I wanna be not who they think I _should_ be. And maybe my version of settling isn’t the same as yours. I can settle down without having to settle _here_ , without having to work on the rig. Your kinda life ain’t right for me. It just ain’t. And no matter what you say, that’s not gonna change. I finally got out of here and I’m not coming back. You can accept it and try to be supportive or we can just _forget_ whatever relationship you and I have. Not that there’s ever been much of one to begin with.”

“Jacob,” his mother said pleadingly as she placed a hand on his arm. “Don’t say that. We’re not going to _forget_ anything. Certainly not each other.”

“Mama,” Jake said with a sad smile. “I’m not the one you should be talking to. This is all up to him. I’m done pretending to be someone I ain't. He can deal with it or not. That’s his decision.”

He turned to leave the room and Mrs. Stone grabbed his arm. “Jacob, are you happy? With those people I met?”

He nodded. “Yeah, mom, I am.”

“Then that’s all that matters,” she told him with a sigh. “Your father’s still working on himself, and maybe it’s time you do the same. He’ll come around.”

Jake looked back to see his dad muttering angrily to himself as he ripped back the covers and headed into the bathroom.

“I’m not so sure about that,” Jake said as the bathroom door slammed.

“He will,” she assured him. “In the meantime, _you_ had better call me at least once a week to check in. I do not want to go several months without hearing from you again.”

He gave her half of a smile and nodded before he kissed her cheek. “I promise. I’ll call you once a week.”

“Good, and I want to spend more time with that girl you like,” she told him. “She seems sweet. Bring her or any of your friends over for dinner sometime. Okay? Maybe they can make _him_ see reason.”

Jake chuckled. “Cassie’s magical and all, mama, but I don’t think she’s _that_ magical.”

“Just do it, ya hear me?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he said with a sigh. “But I make no promises.”

“Good enough,” she said as she leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Stay safe, son. Love you.”

“I’ll try. Love you too, mom,” he said before he headed down the stairs and out of the house. Not quite a storybook ending but he wasn’t going to have to lie anymore. No more secrets. He could find some relief in that at least. He should have known that even if his dad truly wanted things to be better it would take more than a few months sober and demonic possession to really change anything. Jake had always been stubborn. His refusal to trust Cassie for so long was obvious proof of that, and he got it honest. Sam Stone was twice as stubborn as his son.

They still had a long road ahead of them, but at least this was a start.


	8. Tag: Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake returns from talking with his parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the end of episode three! I hope you guys like it. I think you will ;)  
> Happy reading!  
> angellwings

 

The door opened into the Annex and Jake breathed a sigh of relief. It struck him just how _at home_ he felt here. This place was his sanctuary and his adventure all at once. And the people in it were the best thing that had ever happened to him.

They were also nowhere to be found.

The main room was empty. He was beginning to wonder if everyone had gone home when he heard footfalls on the stairs. He looked up to see Cassandra approaching and he was pleased to see her looking much better than before.

“You’re back,” she said with a smile. “How’d it go?”

Something about her asking him that and the look on her face felt like one of those domestic scenes in sitcom. Which was very odd because the life they lead was anything but domestic and not something you'd ever see in a sitcom. Still, it caused a pang in his chest that he’d never really felt before. The yearning for something he really never thought he’d have. Before he realized what he was doing he’d met her at the bottom of the stairs and had pulled her against him.

She looked surprised and gulped nervously before she blushed and smiled shyly at him. “Um, hi.”

He had his arms around her waist and her hands were resting palms down on his chest. Her blue eyes flicked up to meet his and then down to his lips for a split second before he smiled slowly at her. “Hi.”

“Well, this is new,” she said as she relaxed against him. “I like it.”

“Yeah?” He asked curiously. “You do?”

Her smile brightened and she nodded. “A lot.”

“Then let’s take it a step further,” he said before he leaned down and captured her lips with his. She froze for a moment before he felt her wrap her arms around his neck and lean into the kiss. The kiss deepened and continued for a long moment until they both needed to break for air. They pulled back and beamed at each other.

Cassandra giggled and her cheeks flushed before she took a deep calming breath. “Okay, we are doing that a lot more from here on out,” she said as she met his eyes and bit her bottom lip excitedly. “Not that I mind, at all. But what made you want to…”

“Kiss you?” He asked as he smirked at her knowingly.

She nodded and waited for him to continue expectantly.

“Today, I realized that your home isn’t always the place where you grew up,” he told her honestly. “It’s the place where you discover who you are and…” He paused and looked away from her.

“And?” She asked as she reached up cupped the side of his face and pulled his attention back to her.

He rested his forehead against hers, took her hand that was on the side of his face, and placed it over his heart before he continued, “ _and_ what you _really_ want.”

She gasped and smiled brightly at him. Her eyes watered a little as she nodded wordlessly. “I thought it would take a lot longer for us to get to this point.”

“For _me_ to get to this point, you mean,” he said knowingly as he pulled back to meet her eyes again.

“Well,” she said honestly with a wince.

He chuckled at her awkwardness. “I get it. It took me a while to trust you or at least admit I trusted you. It only seems right that it would take just as long for me to get to _us_.”

“Us,” she repeated. “That’s nice. I like that.”

“Me too,” he admitted with an affectionate smile. “But, well, we’ve always had _something_ , haven’t we?”

“There’s always been a connection. From day one,” She said in agreement as she beamed at him. “Summer smells.”

“It’s oranges,” he immediately replied with a grin. “Dinner?”

“Yes, I’m starving. Though now I sort of want breakfast for dinner,” she said as she turned and looped her arm through his.

He laughed and placed a hand on her arm. “Whatever you want is fine with me, darlin’.”


End file.
